FG constitutes panel to end fuel importation
Sopuruchi Onwuka
Federal government is taking definite steps to finally restore domestic sourcing of petroleum products into the country, constituting a board that would henceforth drive development of new refineries that would form the nation’s primary source of supply.
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which bears the responsibility of internal energy security for the country stated Thursday that the board of its newly created NNPC Greenfield Refinery Limited (NGRL) would have the primary role of totally displacing importation with locally produced fuel products.
Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, charged members of the board during the inauguration to explore all available options to bring an end to the current challenge of petroleum products importation.
The Oracle Today reports that the NGRL was set up in December 2020 as a subsidiary of the corporation with a mandate to oversee the establishment and operation of new refineries.
Mallam Kyari who currently chairs the NGRL board said the new company would commercially oriented and profitable enough to remain viable. He warned the new board on the dangers of poor commercial performance in the refining business, saying that protracted loss position would kill the company.
“As a business, this is a big opportunity for us and this company’s balance sheet must change positively. Going forward, with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), I can tell you that if you continue to post negative for three years, you are out. So, there is really no excuse”, Mallam Kyari stated.
He urged the board and management of the new company to set up a skill based operating structure that deploys technology and financial prudence in order to achieve its mandate.
“Our company must grow and we can’t do well except we are able to process our production whether it is the liquid or gas. If we don’t monetize it then we have done nothing. This is really a new chapter and we are committed to making it work,” he said.
He stated that NNPC is building new refinery portfolios with diversified approaches that include conventional crude oil refining, condensate refining, and equity acquisition in private refineries to ensure energy security for the country.
Alternate Chairman and Group Executive Director in charge of Refinery and Petrochemicals at NNPC, Engr. Mustapha Yakubu, pledged cost effectiveness and focus on profitability.
Group General Manager, Greenfield Refineries and Project Division (GRPD) and Managing Director of the NGRL, Engr. Bege Talson, said NNPC was working with partners to establish greenfield, modular and condensate refineries with a combined capacity of 250,000barrels per stream day (bpsd).
Other members of the Board include: Group Executive Director, Finance & Accounts, Mr. Umar Ajiya; Managing Director of the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Engr. Oluwaseyi Omotowa; Managing Director of NNPC Retail, Mrs. Elizabeth Aliyuda; Managing Director of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Mr. Muhammad Ali-Zarah; and Tolulope Olubommo as Company Secretary and Legal Adviser.
